Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Review: Skinny Is Overrated by Danielle Milano, MD

The point is to forget about the BMI chart. Don't worry about what the Department of Health wants you to weigh. There are more important questions: Can you walk up and down a flight of stairs? If there were a fire in your building, how many firemen would it take to carry you out? If it would take more than one fireman to save you (all right, two at the most), it's time to take action! Let's get motivated and do something about it! (from Skinny Is Overrated, page 9)

In Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman's Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size, Danielle Milano, MD, says it's more important to focus on becoming healthier, not reaching an "ideal" weight as spelled out in a chart. She offers some tips to get motivated, and while focusing on a goddess is not my cup of tea, it might work for someone else. More useful tips include setting goals, getting on a schedule, and exercising.

Milano writes in a conversational tone, like you were having an informal chat with a friend who cares about you, isn't afraid to tell it like it is, and just happens to be a doctor. She brings in stories from years of working with patients struggling with both obesity and diabetes, and even if you don't fit into either category, the book offers some valuable information -- and there's a lot of it, despite having only 243 pages.

Among other things, Milano breaks down the different kinds of exercise (aerobic and resistance), but the most helpful chapters for me where those that explain what kinds of foods we should eat , what kinds of foods we should avoid, and why. Much of the information is well known (for instance, how soda and high fructose corn syrup are bad for you), but the lists of do's and don'ts really opened my eyes. By explaining exactly why trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and fast food are bad for you, Milano makes it easier to start on the path toward improved health and weight loss. When I read parts of this book aloud to my husband, he shook his head and asked only half jokingly, "We're not allowed to eat anything, are we?" But Milano provides lists of replacements for the junk food and even several healthy recipes (which I haven't yet tried but don't sound half-bad).

I don't usually read books like Skinny Is Overrated, but I've struggled with weight issues for years and have been looking for a plan that doesn't involve a diet that won't work for the long term. Milano doesn't offer a diet plan but a plan for a healthier lifestyle that involves changing how we think about eating and learning to accept our bodies even if skinny isn't healthy for us. Milano's advice makes sense, and I appreciate that she provides detailed descriptions about the nutrients our bodies need and why junk food doesn't cut it. The kinds of changes Milano encourages readers to make aren't made overnight, so I can definitely see myself turning to the recipes and food recommendations down the road. The most important thing readers should take from Skinny Is Overrated is that one's goals for exercising and weight loss should be reasonable and eating a balanced, healthy meal doesn't mean starving yourself or spending a lot of money or time in the kitchen.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Skinny Is Overrated from Phenix & Phenix for review purposes. I am an Amazon affiliate.

8 comments:

Sounds like an interesting book. I hate diet books that have long lists of dos and don'ts, but modifying the lifestyle a little at a time is a good thing. I'm trying to add more walking to my life and other changes to the diet as well, but I will never give up cheese or chocolate!

I saw this reviewed... somewhere else recently too and thought it looked interesting. I completely agree that the point shouldn't be some arbitrary number that someone decides but rather just being healthy. For me simple lifestyle changes (walking more, drinking more water and less sugary juice and pop) made a huge difference and made me feel so much healthier. I love books like this that teach healthiness rather than dieting (which I was always against due to the whole DIE being part of the word...)!

I feel like I've read so many of these books, and sure, a healthy lifestyle is wonderful, but how come it is so hard for us to do it?!!! I think that's why they can churn out so many of these - we keep failing because it isn't realistic somehow. Can one really pass up the Dairy Queen on a hot day, or never go to fun restaurants with friends, or pass on the margaritas and chips and chile con queso, or whatever? Wouldn't life then be so much less fun and realistic? I don't know, for me it would - I guess that's why these books don't work out for me!

Serena: The dos and don'ts can be a bit depressing at times, but I think it's important to know what we should be doing even if we don't necessarily do it. I can't give up cheese either! LOL

Amy: I never thought about the DIE in dieting...

rhapsodyinbooks: I have to agree with you on that, but I liked this book because it says why we should change our eating habits. I feel like it helps to make more informed choices, even if we are still going to eat junk food from time to time. I know that I won't give up cheese or ice cream or chips completely, but taking a little bit from the book here and there could really make a difference, I think.

Being healthy is very important and it is a way of life. It's hard to get there and stay there but once your achieve your goals and remember that you're in it for the long haul somehow that Snickers bar doesn't look quite so appetizing!